AGENDA #9
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to: |
Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager |
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from: |
J.B. Culpepper, Planning Director David Bonk, Long Range Planning and Transportation Coordinator |
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subject: |
Response to Comments: 2009-2015 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Projects |
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date: |
May 21, 2007 |
This memorandum responds to comments received at the May 7, 2007, Public Forum on the Town of Chapel Hill 2009-2015 Priority List to be used in the development of the 2009-2015 Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP). It also responds to questions and comments provided by Town Advisory Boards and Commissions. Chapel Hill’s 2007-2013 Priority List, approved on April 5, 2005, is provided for reference (Attachment 1), with identification of projects that have been fully or partially funded. The attached resolution would approve the Proposed 2009-2015 Chapel Hill Priority List as recommended (Attachment 2), and forward it to the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization for use in the development of the 2009-2015 Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP).
The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee has begun the process of developing the 2009-2015 Transportation Improvement Program. The Committee has requested that local jurisdictions prepare project priority lists for use in the development of the Regional Priority List. It has been the Council’s practice to remove projects from the Priority List once they are fully funded. The following projects have been fully funded and will be removed:
· Upgrade Chapel Hill Signal System – funded FY11 in the draft State 2007-2013 TIP. The North Carolina Department of Transportation has agreed to the Town request to maintain the previous timeframe for the project, which scheduled construction in FY2009.
· Old Durham-Chapel Hill Road (US 15-501 to I-40) construct bikelanes and sidewalks – funded FY09 and FY10.
· Estes Drive Extension (Seawell School Road to Greensboro Street) add paved shoulders to accommodate bicycles – funded FY07.
The following projects have partial funding in the adopted 2007-2013 Transportation Improvement Program and will remain on the Priority List:
· Transit Capital Projects – partial funding for FY07.
· Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard/NC 86 Corridor (I-40 to North Street) bicycle and pedestrian improvements – partial funding ($200,000) in prior TIP (FY03 and FY04) for section between Homestead Road and Estes Drive.
The Council’s 2009-2015 Priority List and comments will be submitted to the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee for use in developing the Regional 2009-2015 Priority List and the 2009-2015 Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program. The Regional List will also be submitted to the North Carolina Department of Transportation for use in developing the draft State 2009-2015 Transportation Improvement Program.
On April 11, 2007, the Council requested comments from Advisory Boards and set tonight’s public forum to receive comment. Comments from the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board are included in Attachment 2. The Planning Board and Transportation Board will review the Priority List on May 1 and May 10, respectively, and we will provide their recommendations at the May 21, 2007, meeting.
The following comments were received from Council members at the meeting on May 7, 2007:
Comment: The Bolin Creek Greenway project has been moved to priority #3, in the proposed Priority List.
Comment: We will discuss the issue with Durham planning staff and request that they also list these projects. Durham City and Durham County are also in the process of creating their priority lists, and we will request that they include these projects on their lists.
Comment: We agree that the Homestead Road project is very important, and we will continue to work with development within the corridor to ensure construction of bicycle, pedestrian, and transit facilities. The project is recommended as priority #4 on the proposed list.
Comment: We feel comfortable with removing the project from the Priority List. It does not appear on the proposed list.
Comment: There are several options to secure funding for Chapel Hill’s projects. We will continue to include Chapel Hill’s projects in requests for funding through the regular TIP process. However, given the tendency to favor roadway projects, we do not anticipate significant funding through the regular TIP process. Other funding sources intended for non-roadway projects are the Transportation Enhancement Program and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program. These funds are allocated by the State, but have been eliminated in recent years as a result of the State’s response to federal recessions. It is our hope that the funds will be restored to these programs, and we will be able to use them for bicycle, pedestrian, and transit projects.
Another option is to request more of the Surface Transportation Program Direct Allocation (STPDA) funds that are allocated at the discretion of the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization. It has been the Transportation Advisory Committee’s policy that these funds are allocated primarily for non-roadway projects. Another option is to seek Congressional earmarks to fund Chapel Hill’s projects. This strategy is well suited for very large capital projects, and is probably best suited for transit projects (because the funding it provides for transit is additional and does not adversely affect other projects in the region). Congressional earmarks for pedestrian and bicycle projects take funds out of the equity formula.
Comment: We have added this project to the Priority List as #6.
Comment: We agree that there is a need to fund projects that cannot be covered with Town bond funds or the regional Surface Transportation Direct Allocation (STPDA) bicycle and pedestrian funds, but that also may be unlikely to be funded through the normal TIP process. One possibility might be to group several smaller sidewalk projects together for TIP purposes. Another possibility might be to try to leverage more STPDA funds for Chapel Hill projects.
Comment: We have incorporated these suggestions into the proposed Priority List. They are not included exactly as described above, however, because of consolidation of the Ephesus Road projects and a decision to move the Intersection Improvements (#15 above) higher on the list.
3. The Board recommends prioritizing projects which connect Chapel Hill and Durham, and which are supported by both communities.
Comment: We agree that connections between Chapel Hill and Durham are important, and will continue to cooperate with Durham to carry forward such projects. Further, we will request that the Durham City Council and the Durham County Commissioners include such projects on their lists.
The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization has requested that local jurisdictions submit their project priority list for preliminary review by the regional staff and the Transportation Advisory Committee by the end of May 2007.
The 2009-2015 Chapel Hill Transportation Priority List will be sent to the Technical Coordinating Committee, which is in the process of developing the priority ranking methodology. After the methodology is completed and adopted by the Transportation Advisory Committee, the Technical Coordinating Committee will apply the methodology to projects in all jurisdictions, and prepare a final regional priority list for approval by the Transportation Advisory Committee on August 8, 2007.
We recommend that the Council adopt the proposed 2009-2015 Transportation Priority List as provided in Attachment 2. This List was created using the 2007-2013 Transportation Priority List, after removing projects that had already been fully funded, as discussed above. Most projects moved to a higher priority accordingly, but maintained the same relative order. The following projects were either reordered in the List or newly added to the List: